Nightmares
by Chitanda
Summary: But all that came out was a scream. - Henry/Eileen.


Eileen held her hand out for Henry to wait, limping along as quickly as she could, but he continued running without even turning around to notice her held hand. With the help of a streetlight, she could tell that they were nearing another gate, and over that, she could make out the dark form of the Wish House. That was truly the only place they were safe from that madman, Walter, and that was why Eileen always breathed a sigh of relief when they came to the burned down orphanage.

Why Walter never followed them into that area, Eileen would never know.

Henry stopped running once he reached the rusty gate, and only then did he turn to watch her continue her limp-run after him. Eileen was grateful that he always waited for her, and when he did forget her he would always immediately come back, but he still didn't realize how utterly frightening it was to be running on your own even if your comrade was only a few feet ahead - you never knew when another strange creature would jump out and attack you.

No, Eileen wasn't asking him to hold her hand or anything. Though... it would be nice. Oh no, brush those thoughts away, Eileen, now's not the time to be thinking of romance. Maybe once you get out of this messed up world and back to reality, but now's the time to fight for your life.

Once she was by his side, Henry opened the gate for the two of them, closing it once they were both in. Just like all the other times, Eileen allowed herself to smile at the familiar sight of the playground and burned orphanage. Maybe now they'd be able to finally rest... they had been running and fighting non-stop for God knows how long... Eileen's entire body throbbed with pain, and not only from the marks she got from Walter, but from them _and_ some recent bruises and cuts she'd received at the hands of some ghosts and Sniffer Dogs. Idly, she wondered if Henry was in nearly as much pain as she was.

Almost immediately, they were back to running. Eileen knew the ritual, though. Henry was going off into that weird, invisible hole of his leaving her all alone until he decided it was time to come back. She didn't mind, though. It gave her time to just sit back and relax. Henry always did take what seemed to be hours, so she was always able to get a little nap in while he was gone.

Henry was already at the area where, supposedly, that hole was. He always waited for Eileen to be at his side before he went in, just like he did when waiting for her to catch up with him at a gate. Eileen limped her way towards him. Henry must have noticed the fresh marks on her body, because he lit a candle and placed it at her feet. He gave her another look before descending into the hole, leaving Eileen alone once again.

"... Oh, Henry," Eileen smiled and carefully sat down. She pressed her back to the wooden wall behind her, being very mindful of the fresh bruises and cuts on her back. The candle was a ways away from her now, it probably wouldn't maintain its healing abilities with such a distance. Eileen leaned forward a bit and grasped the small candle in her hand. The wax hadn't become hot quite yet, but it was getting there. She placed the item at her side and leaned back against the wall.

"Well, now what?" she pondered aloud. A nap would be nice, wouldn't it? Even if she didn't have the best sleeping arrangements, the rest would still do her body some good, right? The brunette woman shifted around a bit to try and get into a more comfortable sleeping position, and when content, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Only then did she realize how exhausted she really was. It didn't take long before she fell asleep.

_"Daddy...? Mommy...? Wh-Where are you?" A little brunette girl was standing, alone, in an apartment building with pulsating red walls. The only comfort she had was the ragged doll clutched tightly in her small hand. "Daddy? M-Mommy? Mommy, where are you? I-I'm scared... don't leave me alone..."_

_A low growl from behind alerted the youngling that she wasn't alone. Slowly, she turned around. What seemed like a decaying dog was staring her down, its back arched as though it were to jump anytime. Again, it emitted a horrible growl. It was then that the girl noticed the dog's long tongue, a tongue so long that it touched the ground._

_Terrified, the girl slowly began to back away, but the dog-like creature began advancing on her. "Leave me alone!" she screamed before she spun around and began on the run of her life. The dog followed behind, and as the girl ran, she spotted five more of those creatures at the end of the hall. "S-Somebody!" she wailed._

_To her left was an apartment door. Immediately, she stopped and tried to open it. "P-Please please pleeeease!" The door budged a little but didn't open enough for her to get her small body in. Desperately, the child began to run into the wood with her shoulder. It hurt, but the door was opening more and more, while the distance between the dogs and her was dissipating, as well. Finally, the door opened and allowed the girl in just as one of the creatures had made a lunge at her._

_She had run in so quickly that she nearly stumbled and fell flat on her face. The girl regained her balance before that happened, though. "H-Hel–" she began in a soft voice, but the rest of the word died in her throat as she directed her gaze downward. The carpet was completely covered in blood, as were the walls around the doorway. The youngling's gaze slowly followed the red trail up to the body of a woman sprawled out on the floor. The girl's lips trembled. Her mouth opened to call out to the woman._

_But all that came out was a scream._

"-een! Eileen! Eileen, wake up! Relax!" Eileen barely registered the pair of arms that had wrapped themselves around her frail body. "Eileen... Eileen, relax. I'm here..."

"I shouldn't have taken so long," Henry mumbled, so softly that Eileen wondered if he had even said anything at all. Was he blaming himself for this? Oh, sweet sweet Henry. Always so helping. Always trying to take responsibility, even when it had nothing to do with him. A bad habit, Eileen thought, but still very kind. "I shouldn't have left in the first place... to leave you alone just for those hauntings..."

_Hauntings?_ She idly wondered. _What's he talking about?_

Eileen licked her dry lips. "H-Henry," she whispered soothingly. Strange how in just one minute, she had gone from the one needing comfort to the one giving it. "Henry, don't blame yourself... It was just a bad dream is all, I'm not hurt or anything."

Henry stared at her for a moment. If he had been staring at her just a week ago, she would have felt awkward, but in the little time that they had been together... she felt a strange safeness with him. He gave her comfort, and nothing he did ever made her upset or uneasy. It was amazing how close they'd gotten in so little time. Not too long ago, they were practically complete strangers, although they lived right next to each other.

If they ever got out of this messed up world, then Eileen was sure she'd at least have gotten one good thing out of the experience.

* * *

**wrote this a year ago. this always came off as lacking to me, but i guess it's decent enough to post. maybe someone will like it.**


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